CAAB

Space, Missile Defense Essential To Defense, Rumsfeld Says

By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Dec. 10, 2003 - Defending America, its
overseas military and its allies from ballistic missiles laden with
weapons of mass destruction "is now America's highest priority,"
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld noted today.

In prepared remarks provided by video feed to attendees of an
Association of the United States Army-sponsored space and
missile defense symposium in El Paso, Texas, Rumsfeld noted
that some rogue states that sponsor terrorism "either have or
are working hard to acquire nuclear, chemical or biological
weapons of mass destruction and the long-range missiles
necessary to deliver them."

This means, the defense secretary asserted, "we have truly
entered a new age - one that may well be the most dangerous
America, and the democracies of the world, have ever faced."

The U.S. military is transforming itself, Rumsfeld pointed out, to
"think and fight jointly" and to develop needed capabilities to
confront 21st-century threats such as global terrorism and
WMDs. And, the secretary said, "The importance of space and
missile defense in this endeavor cannot be overstated."

The secretary thanked Maj. Gen. Michael A. Vane, commanding
general of the U.S. Army Air Defense Artillery Center at nearby
Fort Bliss, noting that the general's Patriot anti-missile batteries
successfully intercepted several enemy-fired ballistic missiles
during Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.

The Patriot missile crews also "successfully defended vital
concentrations of coalition military equipment and personnel,"
Rumsfeld said.

Space satellite-linked information networks, Rumsfeld pointed
out, can be used to locate enemy forces and increase the
accuracy of airdropped munitions.

"Over the past few years we have recognized that space and
information are not only enablers, but (also) core war fighting
competencies," Rumsfeld said, adding, "That realization is being
validated in both Afghanistan and Iraq."

Rumsfeld noted today's U.S. military uses space-based assets
for communications, navigation, weather, early warning,
surveillance and reconnaissance purposes.

In the global war on terrorism, he continued, Joint Tactical
Ground Stations provided around-the-clock warning for U.S.
forces, while DoD satellite communications centers provide
support for Tomahawk missile launches, and unmanned aerial
vehicle reconnaissance missions.

"Thanks to space," Rumsfeld continued, "we were able to send
real-time targeting and intel(ligence) information direct to Air
Force attack assets."

And, "the importance of space will only increase in the future,"
Rumfeld emphasized, citing space as "fundamental to modern
warfare." Unfettered access to space, he added, is "a vital U.S.
national interest."

The Army "is the largest user of space products and services,"
Rumsfeld pointed out, noting that service is also heavily involved
in the nation's new missile defense system.

In fact, Rumsfeld noted, America's first Ground-based Midcourse
Missile Defense Brigade that was activated Oct. 16 at Peterson
Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colo., will be manned by
Army active duty and National Guard troops.

And, the secretary continued, Alaska Army National Guard
soldiers from Fort Greely will constitute Alaska's Missile Defense
Space Battalion that's slated for activation in January.

When missile defense "is no longer a dream, but a reality, the
world will be a much safer place for Americans, and for all
people who long for peace and freedom," Rumsfeld concluded.